Did Liberty U. Violate Tax Status With Partisanship?

Submitted by Doug Lederman on February 25, 2010 - 3:00am

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the Internal Revenue Service[1] to investigate whether Liberty University violated its tax-exempt status by throwing its weight behind a Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates. The request states that Liberty's leaders used Liberty Champion, "ostensibly a student publication but one that is actually subject to university control, to run a series of articles" attacking the Democratic candidate (who lost narrowly) and backing the Republican. Americans United also said that Liberty "twice arranged for a 'voter guide' published by the Virginia Family Foundation to appear in the Champion" and that the guide "distorted" the Democratic candidate's views. Further, the complaint states that on Election Day, a senior Liberty official "drove around campus with the College Republicans, rounding up voters." Liberty officials told The Lynchburg News & Advance[2] that the claims were "bogus" and part of a campaign of harassment by the group against the university.